Spare tire air pump????

[btaft]

I recently bought a 1884 Carrera. The pump to pump up the spare is missing. As you probably know, the spare is a deflated temporary tire...

Anyhow, I was about to buy a cigarette plug in pump from NAPA, but when I looked at the spare, it has an extra piece next to the valve. Neither the tech manual nor any of the other books explain what this is.

My question is - will a run of the mill plug in electric pump inflate this tire?

I am also wondering how well this setup actually works, and how you squash the tire down again after you use it?

Thanks for your help. Picts below...

[ossiblue]

The valve with the silver cap is the inflating valve, and any pump should work. My guess is the other valve is for deflating the spare but I have heard no confirmation of that. Hopefully, someone with direct experience can confirm or correct this.

Very clean car, by the way--nice, nice, nice!

[Packy]

why don't you just bring it into the guys at napa and try to inflate the pump partially, then deflate.

[porschzilla]

Why don't you just go to a local Porsche dealer and ask a mechanic or service mgr? Most service mgrs will help with a simple question. They might even get you as a customer in an emergency, so most are nice.

Jack

[zippy_gg]

Here are a few questions I have: you have a 1984 tire in your trunk. How good do you think it is after 26 years?
I have a 1986 car with the same tire you have... The PO bought a replacement air pump, which itself seems to have had better days.
How many of us rely on an old deflated tire for emergencies? How many remove the spare wheel altogether (to save weight) and rely on fix-a-flat and/or their credit card?

[gtc]

I've used my '84 collapsible spare a number of times in the last few years. As ridiculous as it looks, i have to admit that it's always worked great. Surprisingly, the rubber is still in great shape.
I bought a $15 air compressor at Walgreens to replace the factory compressor which was missing when I bought the car. It works fine.

[SpeedracerIndy]

I'm sure it will deflate just fine as long as you don't leave it on the car inflated for a long time. I have talked to people who said they have used it and were impressed by how well it worked. Even if it is 25+ years old, I'm sure it will be fine for an emergency trip as slow speeds.

I've heard of people carrying a can of fix-a-flat as well. I tried that stuff in an old Audi I had and will never use it again. It did indeed fix my flat temporarily, however it also prevented me from being able to balance that wheel properly. It would become unbalanced after a month or so and start wobbling badly at highway speeds. The tech who kindly scrubbed the remnants off of my rim when I bought a new tire was not too fond of the stuff because of that very reason.

There's also the theory that the spare tire is part of the design of the car to aid in crash safety. Not sure if I believe that or not. I took my spare out a long time ago and only put it in when I'm going on a long trip.

[rusnak]

First question: yes.

Second question: it deflates and folds by itself. It works very very well.

Third question: the valve on the right is the deflate valve, the cap on the left comes off, and there is a regular old tire valve underneath it.

Just keep it in the trunk until you need it, don't play around with the tire. Buy a reliable air pump because when you're stuck you don't want to try to air your car tire up with a child's toy.

[Winter]

Yes, a regular cigarette lighter powered pump will work for the spare. I bought mine at an Autozone. Don't remember exactly how much I paid, but it wasn't much. I tested it on the spare that came with my car to ensure the spare held air, it did, and that's that. I also carry a AAA+ card (100 miles of towing). No problems yet.

----

Tom '75 targa

[moneymanager]

A comment on fix a flat... it works just fine if you use it and then fairly quickly get the tire repaired/replaced as they advise. If you wait a while you will pay to get the wheel cleaned up. I actually prefer Slime which is put into the tire a little differently. Each has saved me in a difficult situation. Saves 30 odd pounds too. I could never get any air in my inflatable spare and no one, not even the dealer, could help me!

[porschzilla]

I took mine out today to clean under the trunk mats. Mine is a Vredestein and I am the original owner of my 88 Carrera Cabriolet so that is the original collapsible tyre. It looks like new. No dry rot and my pump is still perfect in it's PORSCHE case.
If pix are needed I will gladly assist.

Jack

[racer]

I'm sure it could be argued about increased front end "cumple zone" protection by leaving the spare in the car.

Any aftermarket compressor will work. I got one at sears maybe 10 years ago and works fine. Don't get hung up on the "porsche" one unless you prefer its "originality".

I would fully expect it to hold air. Would I want to do a track day on it? no.. But get me down the road in a pinch, yes.

[rusnak]

the Porsche one is actually not so great. I've used it, and it gets really hot and is very slow. Since I like to take my 911 on road trips, and have had more than my share of flats and tire trouble in the boonies, I got a nice compressor. When it's dark, you're in a strange city by the side of the highway and you wanna get outta there fast, this thing is awfully nice to have.

[dfloyd]

Who is the vendor for the air pump you recommended? I have tried to use those cheap cigarette lighter plug in pumps and they barely work and are very slow. The other issue I have run into with the collapsible spare is that it may not be "beaded" on the rim. Hence you need a fair amount of air flow to re-bead the tire before it will fill.

[Wil Ferch]

BTW....the "Porsche" one is made by Intermatics.....I had both, the generic Intermatics and the Porsche one..... both of which look like they are part of a small briefcase. Caveat...the Porsche one has the fatter plug because as we all know.....Porsche couldn't leave well enough alone and has to use non-standard cigar lighter plug diameters....another thing "uniquely" Porsche.....

[rusnak]

Intermatic is slow, gets hot, and is noisy. I would just place it on the shelf, for the day you eventually sell it on Ebay. It's junk IMO.

The one I posted is ViAir. It has an extra long cord, in-line fuse, and clamps directly to the battery. I've aired up everything from my Porsche spare, to truck tires, even a tractor tire. It's fast, and makes less noise. It costs more, but since I spend a lot of time going through BFE country, it's well worth it. A no brainer in my opinion.

[MH911]

Hey Floyd, I think this is what your looking for.

VIAIR Corporation - 90P Part No. 00093

[Joe Bob]

The Porsche pump, on a good day is Hella slow, but works. I pump up the spare once a year or whenever I change the oil.

A AAA card is the best defense. I STILL carry a plug kit in the trunk, saved my butt a couple of times, fix a flat sucks. Rather run on a repaired wheel than a POS spare.

I do have standards.....

[bfunke]

If you get a sleeve for your cigar lighter at Radio Shack the US 12v plugs will fit better into the Euro lighter which is slightly larger.

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by rusnak

, this thing is awfully nice to have.

I went to the site MH911 posted and the listed dimensions for the main unit are

172mm L, 165mm H, 93mm W
6.8" L, 6.5" H, 3.5" W

does that make sense?

thx